Eurostar

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Glossary

1

Test automation

Using scripts, frameworks and tooling to execute checks that would otherwise be run by hand, so regression coverage can be repeated on every build. At EuroSTAR the automation conversation usually moves quickly from tool choice to maintainability, flakiness and where automation sits in the CI pipeline.

2

Shift-left testing

Moving testing activity earlier in the delivery lifecycle - requirements review, design-level checks, unit and component tests, static analysis - so defects are found before system test or production. It changes what testers do in sprint zero and how they work with analysts and developers.

3

Exploratory testing

Simultaneous learning, test design and execution in which the tester designs and adapts checks while using the product, rather than following a fixed script. Session-based test management is the common way of chartering, time-boxing and reporting exploratory sessions.

4

Risk-based testing

Prioritising test effort by product risk - likelihood and impact of failure - so limited time is spent where a defect would hurt users or the business most. Risk workshops and risk matrices are typical inputs.

5

Test pyramid

A model for the shape of an automated test suite: many fast unit and component checks, fewer service or API tests, and a small number of end-to-end UI tests. Debates at conferences usually concern where the layers should sit for microservices and mobile products.

6

Contract testing

Verifying that a consumer and a provider of an API agree on request and response expectations, without deploying both together. Tools in this space let teams catch breaking changes in CI before integration environments reveal them.

7

Performance testing

Measuring response time, throughput and resource behaviour under expected and peak load, including stress, soak and spike tests. Modern practice links load tests with production observability so test results can be compared with real traffic.

8

Observability

The degree to which you can understand a system's internal state from its outputs - logs, metrics and distributed traces. For testers it means shifting some verification into production, using real telemetry to find defects and guide test coverage.

9

Test data management

Provisioning, masking, subsetting and refreshing the data that tests need, while respecting privacy rules such as GDPR. It is a frequent blocker for teams scaling automated regression in regulated environments.

10

Mutation testing

Deliberately introducing small faults into source code and checking whether the test suite detects them, giving a measure of test effectiveness rather than raw coverage. It is used to expose weak assertions in supposedly well-covered code.

11

Defect leakage

Defects found after a release that earlier test stages should have caught. Tracking leakage by stage and root cause is a standard way to judge whether a quality gate is doing its job.

12

Quality gate

A defined checkpoint - automated suite pass rate, coverage threshold, severity thresholds, security scan results - that a build must satisfy before moving to the next stage or into production.

13

AI-assisted testing

Using machine learning or large language models to generate test cases, select regression scope, classify failures or draft test data. Conference discussion tends to focus on validation, traceability and where human review remains mandatory.

14

Model-based testing

Deriving test cases from an explicit model of expected system behaviour, such as a state machine or decision table, so coverage can be reasoned about and regenerated when the model changes.